root.cache(4tcp)

root.cache -- file containing names of root domain servers

Synopsis

;       This file holds the information on root name servers needed to
;       initialize cache of Internet domain name servers
;       (e.g. reference this file in the "cache  .  <file>"
;       configuration file of BIND domain name servers).
;
;       This file is made available by InterNIC registration services
;       under anonymous FTP as
;           file                /domain/named.root
;           on server           FTP.RS.INTERNIC.NET
;       -OR- under Gopher at    RS.INTERNIC.NET
;           under menu          InterNIC Registration Services (NSI)
;              submenu          InterNIC Registration Archives
;           file                named.root
;
;       last update:    Nov 8, 1995
;       related version of root zone:   1995110800
;
;
; formerly NS.INTERNIC.NET
;
.                        3600000  IN  NS    A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
A.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     198.41.0.4
;
; formerly NS1.ISI.EDU
;
.                        3600000      NS    B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
B.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     128.9.0.107
;
; formerly C.PSI.NET
;
.                        3600000      NS    C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
C.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.33.4.12
;
; formerly TERP.UMD.EDU
;
.                        3600000      NS    D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
D.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     128.8.10.90
;
; formerly NS.NASA.GOV
;
.                        3600000      NS    E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
E.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.203.230.10
;
; formerly NS.ISC.ORG
;
.                        3600000      NS    F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
F.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.5.5.241
;
; formerly NS.NIC.DDN.MIL
;
.                        3600000      NS    G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
G.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.112.36.4
;
; formerly AOS.ARL.ARMY.MIL
;
.                        3600000      NS    H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
H.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     128.63.2.53
;
; formerly NIC.NORDU.NET
;
.                        3600000      NS    I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.
I.ROOT-SERVERS.NET.      3600000      A     192.36.148.17
; End of File

Description

The named(1Mtcp) daemon reads the root.cache file to find a list of root name servers (termed ``hints'') which it can query for the current list of root domain name servers. named primes its cache using this list rather than using the contents of the root.cache file. The time-to-live field in the root.cache file is not used. Unlike other records, hints do not expire as they are not stored in the cache. named uses the hints to obtain a new list of root servers if the existing list expires.

The location of the root.cache file is specified by the cache directive in the named.boot(4tcp) file. The latest version of the Internet root.cache file is available from ftp://rs.internic.net/domain/named.root, or by using the command dig . ns. Because the contents of this file change periodically, retrieve it regularly to ensure that you have the current version.

Files

/etc/inet/named.d/db.cache: suggested location for root cache file

References

named(1Mtcp), named.boot(4tcp), named.hosts(4tcp), named.local(4tcp), named.rev(4tcp), named.soa(4tcp)

RFC 1035, RFC 2308